


Those Who Are Saved

by CheerfullyCynical



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: A lot of Feelz, AU: Saving the Master, Angst and Feels, BAMF Doctor, Because the Doctor couldn't let him die, Even if he deserves it, F/M, Gen, Hurt, Lots of the doctor deal with what she is, Mild Comfort, Spoilers, Spoilers - Timeless Children, The Master Lives, The Timeless Children, alternative universe, the timeless child
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-03
Updated: 2020-03-07
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:59:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,983
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22996561
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CheerfullyCynical/pseuds/CheerfullyCynical
Summary: SPOILERS:The Doctor saves the Master.
Relationships: The Doctor & The Master (Doctor Who), The Doctor/The Master (Doctor Who), Thirteenth Doctor & The Master, Thirteenth Doctor & The Master (Dhawan), Thirteenth Doctor/The Master (Dhawan)
Comments: 22
Kudos: 239





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Let's all scream into the void together, huh?

The Doctor stared into the eyes of her longest friend, looking for a trace of the boy she had known here, on this very planet. When was the last time both were here, together, on Gallifrey? When they were children, hopeful for their future – their past in the past? Maybe it had been longer than even that.

It didn’t matter. What she saw now was her friend, hurting and exploding against the very thing – very person – that he was, all because of her past.

No. It may be her past, but it was the actions of those before her that caused him so much pain. She couldn’t blame herself for something she had never done in the first place. Not anymore. She was the Doctor, and she had chosen that very name for a reason.

She was the Doctor. She was here to heal all that she could.

“I am so much more than you.”

The words felt light on her tongue – freeing in a way that she didn’t know was possible. She had _always_ been the Doctor, no matter who she _had_ been. She would always _be_ the Doctor.

And she was going to save her friend.

“Come with me.” She said, holding out her hand, just as he did only hours ago, “Come with me and help me fix this – Together. We no longer have to follow their rules anymore.”

He looked down at her hand, his head titled. His eyes, so wide this time around, filled to the brim with…Nothing. He was closed off from her and from the rest of the world for so long that he mistook her hand as another plot. She couldn’t stand another second of it.

“ _Please.”_ She whispered to him, refusing to put her arm down, the bomb heavy in her coat, “Please, Master. Don’t do this.”

Slowly, so very slowly, his hand twitched, his whole arm following the movement. He looked up at her just as they connected, his eyes still as wide as ever, filled with something even she, in all her years, didn’t understand.

He opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, the Cybermen were shooting at her. The Master reacted faster than herself. He grabbed her around the chest, flinging them both to the ground. The was a whooshing sound, and then the air rushed out of her lungs, causing her eyes to water.

“Doctor!”

She opened her eyes, surprised to find Yaz and Ryan in front of her. The Master was already to on his feet, moving the TARDIS away from what could be the end of the universe. He was muttering to himself as he went, twitching madly as sliver pulsed through his veins.

The Cyberium. How could she forget?

“Let me drive!” She yelled, stumbling only a little. The buttons in front of her were just a tad bit foreign, but she could do it.

He moved out of the way, showing just how much the Cyberium was doing to him. Before the humans could protest, she was flipping switches and buttons, flying the TARDIS as fast as possible. Why was she flying the TARDIS as fast as possible?

“Left them a little gift,” The Master replied, huffing. Was he reading her thoughts? “Might want to have zippers in your pockets next time. Awfully… Easily… to _steal.”_

 _The Death Particle: Her –_ their _home planet was about to be reduce to nothing._

He hissed out a long Gallifreyan curse word, grabbing at his head. “Don’t have long now,” He continued, “The Cyberium isn’t very happy with my choice of… Arrangements.”

“Back up!” The Doctor warned the group, gesturing towards the doorway, “Don’t touch it!”

And with that, the Cyberium took its exit, flinging away from the Master in a rather beautiful display of bright silver through the air. It hovered there, even as its host fell unconscious, and swirled back in forth, moving to person to person. Eventually, it chose to hover over the Master.

Just as it reached for Graham, she stood in front of, smiling with her teeth. “Sorry, they’re off limits. In fact, everyone here is off limits. Now! I know that you can’t keep this form for long. I know that you want the best suitable person to help with you plans.”

It hummed at her, spiking angerly. If the Doctor spoke angry grey blub, she imagined it just said to hurry up.

“You need a host…” She raised her arms, “And I seem to be the next best thing.”

“Doctor!”

But she ignored the warning. “You can’t use a human – they burn up to fast. Eighty years, give or take? Not nearly enough to plan another revolution. But me? I’m immortal - The _first_ immortal. I have more knowledge than the Master could ever comprehend.”

It stopped its spazzing. It hovered over the Master, but it soon made its way towards her. “Yes, exactly! I’m much better already. I-”

And then it was fusing to her once again, pulsing through her veins sharply as they became accustomed to each other. She held in her groan, already pushing away its attempts to contact her. She didn’t need another voice in her head. It burned – of course it burned. Every inch of her skin was on fire, warning of her the danger she was in. The Cyberium was strong. It wasn’t stronger than her.

“Is it…” Ryan asked, “Are you alright?”

She deflated, pushing her entire weight onto the console, “Fine.” She replied, eyes looking towards the still unconscious Master. “Absolutely fine.”

No, it wasn’t convincing. Nothing would be after the day she had.

“Why is he here?” Yaz asked next, “He’s-”

_Boom._

They were all thrown to the floor, the TARDIS spinning wildly out of control. She opened her eyes just in time to see the Master get throw into the wall behind her, his eyes flashing open in shock and pain. She blinked, her hand automatically moving to the lever behind her. She slammed her palm into it, again getting thrown around as the TARDIS righted itself. It beeped at her, perhaps in annoyance, but then stilled.

“Everyone alright?” She called out, still not sure she was herself. Her back did not agree with the hard walls behind her.

There were groans around the room, her fam sounding off one by one. The Doctor looked to the left, breathing a sigh of relief at the face of her old friend, fully awake. He was already on his feet, looking towards her. He walked past the humans without care, looking at one of the screens of the TARDIS, his lips upturning into a smile.

And then, reality hit her – she knew exactly what he was smiling about.

She stumbled to her feet, rushing to the doors of the TARDIS before she even realized she had legs. She tripped over her own feet on the way there, her hand just hitting one of the doors. A blinding white light hit her, causing her to shield her eyes from the destruction.

She ended up on her hands and knees, watching numbly as a large piece of crater – of _her home_ – moved harmlessly passed them. She watched it as it went, wondering if it would be the last time she would ever see it. It was very nearly beautiful, looking at the vastness of space – of a total erasure of her past. It felt like a physical blow to the hearts.

 _“With the Time Lords gone,”_ The Cyberium whispered, just as she was most vulnerable, _“There’s nothing in the way of being who you truly are.”_

She snarled, _“And what am I, exactly?”_

_“A god.”_

“How desperate you must be,” She said aloud, pulling herself into a kneeling position, “Appealing to darkest fear before all else.” She laughed, loudly, crazily. She was crying, the tears heavy on her face, “You think I wanted this? You think this makes better?”

Her eyes fell to the Master, “I can, and _always will be,_ the Doctor.”

She slammed the shields on her mind down, using every emotion she had to keep the Cyberium at bay, safely locked away in her mind until she found a way to dispose of it. Her body jolted at the effort, spazzing as the Cyberium tried to force itself apart. Instead, she held on as tightly as she could.

And she won.

The Doctor fell once again, curled up on her side as darkness finally took her.

It felt like peace.


	2. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is unedited! Forgive me for mistakes! I will fix all mistakes soon :)

The Master caught her before she hit the ground.

It felt ridiculous, holding everything he had ever hated in his arms. For a moment, he saw his hands around that very fragile throat, ringing life out of life out of her, finding out just how many she had to give. It seemed a fair punishment for the crime.

But, instead, he found himself staring at her face, wondering how she could look so peaceful when moments ago she had the pain of thousands of deaths in her eyes. He wondered if he should feel the same, watching the remains of Gallifrey fly passed them.

He didn’t. In fact, he felt nothing.

It was infuriating – almost infuriating as his urge to wipe away the tears from the Doctor’s face.

He _deserved_ to feel, at the very least, proud of his work. He had done what he set out to do! The Doctor and the Time Lords, destroyed in all ways that mattered. There was nothing left of the monsters that had torture children – tortured _them._ They had deserved such an ending.

And yet, in the back of his mind, the same part that the Doctor always managed to make appear, he despaired for all he had lost. The history of his people, even as terrible as it was, was now inaccessible to any being besides the two of them in the room. His culture, his past, all gone with one touch of a button.

“Don’t touch her!”

The Master, always with a plan, reached into his jacket pocket, revealing the tissue compressor. He pointed it threateningly at the human – _Ryan Sinclair –_ and revealed as he stopped in his stride. Like a human was ever capable of saving the Doctor.

Gently, he lowered the Doctor to the ground, making sure her head didn’t bang too harshly. He needed that brain to contain the Cyberium.

“I am so very tired,” He growled, “Of dealing with the Doctor’s _pets._ So,” He pointed his device at the young girl, Yaz, and smiled, “two options! Either I take you back to you time just a tad bit small and, well, more dead than before, or you shut up and go back alive.”

Silence. The Master loved it.

“Wonderful.” He muttered, inputting the coordinates for twenty-first century earth. He couldn’t wait to be rid of them.

“We won’t let you hurt her,” Yaz told him, having the nerve to look him in the eyes. His finger twitched against the trigger, “She saved you, didn’t she? She said she wasn’t going to come back – that she was willing to die to stop what you did.”

The Master’s jaw clenched. Ah, how very noble of her. It didn’t matter – didn’t have the time to take that factual statement to his hearts. After all, if she came to stop him, fully intending to die, then it was only his decision that foiled his own plans.

He watched carefully as the oldest of the Doctor’s insignificant humans moved to her side, sliding two of his fingers to her wrist. How arrogant to think that the Master didn’t check her vitals already, monitored carefully by the TARDIS.

He set his coordinates, ignoring the voices around him as he flew the TARDIS through the time vortex, wishing for this moment to be over. How mundane was he becoming? Whisking humans off to where they wanted to go? He always had a plan in the back of his mind, the beating of four beats increasing the body count every time they repeated. None of what he was doing now made any sense.

Yet, the Master’s mind was quiet for the first time in centuries.

And then, of course, the universe sensed the Doctor’s ever-present luck, and the TARDIS powered down with a serious of loud bangs, causing the humans to scream loudly.

He growled, slamming his palm on her console as the emergency lights came on. The obnoxious scribble of Gallifreyan flashed before his eyes, warning him of low power and other various issues with the unit. She needed at least a couple of hours in the vortex to recharge.

He would have to deal with six, stupidly protective humans _alone._ The thought nearly had him flinging himself out the doors of the place. At least it would be a quick death.

It was then that the Doctor gasped, coming to life. She flung up from the floor, her breathes uneven as she took in her surroundings. She looked towards Graham O'Brien with wide eyes, and quickly looked down at her wrist, where she just caught him removing his fingers from her wrist. She looked surprised.

“Those are emergency lights.” She declared, hand over one of her hearts, ignoring the situation entirely, “Why are there emergency lights? Are we crashing? No, not crashing. I can taste it, we’re in the time vortex.”

He had always admired that in her – the way she could just pick herself up from ground at one hundred and fifty miles per hour.

“Stuck,” He answered, motionless, “Used all of her power, I’m afraid.”

He held in the urge to laugh – didn’t want to freak out the rest of the party.

She groaned, putting a hand to her temple. “ _Shut up.”_

The Master fidgeted in place, a fierce… _feeling_ coming over him. He was reminded vividly of the first time they had tried touch telepathy, his face as they pulled part, pinched in pain when both of their voices were too loud. They’re thoughts, all combined into a mess. It was utterly beautiful, even if they had headaches for three hours.

He, again, felt the intense need to go over to her – to comfort her as the Cyberium played mind game after mind game with her.

“Are you alright?”

The older woman, the one who was of this timeline, asked her, looking genuinely concerned. It was always fascinating to see how people gravitated towards the Doctor’s aura. While the Master was always a loner, and happy to be one, she reacted to people with just as much energy as they gave her, and even more kindness. It was exhausting to watch.

“Fine,” She said, only somewhat snippy, “Perfectly fine! Couple hours of rest and I’ll be right as rain.” She got up from the ground with the help of Yasmin Khan, hesitating only half a step when the Doctor passed him. He sensed it, the _fear-loneliness-exhaustion-anger-confusion_ just from the close proximity.

She scrunched her nose as she read the screen in front of her, “No time for napping then.” She said, not looking him, “Repairs to do.”

Surprised, he turned to looked at her, his eyebrows raised. There was simply no way she had the strength to do any of these repairs. She was battling an advance AI, filled to the brim with more carnage than maybe himself, and she wanted to crawl underneath an unused TARDIS and repair her?

“Doc,” Graham said, eyes kind, “We’ve all had a bit of tough…Week. Waiting a day or so in here won’t kill us.”

“Yeah,” Ryan agreed. “We…”

The Master tuned it out. He watched idly as the humans continued their reassurances to her. They had just been through possibly the worst day of their lives, mostly due to him, and yet they were willing to let her rest.

He hadn’t seen kindness like that…He hasn’t seen kindness in so long that he had forgotten what it looked like. Was this why the Doctor always had his _companions?_ She said to him that they “ _keep him human”_ and he was only know understanding what that meant.

They kept her _grounded_.

Theta Sigma had been a loose cannon – a firecracker before firecrackers had a name in Gallifrey. He was a breaker of rules, unwilling to learn ‘unnecessary information’ even when their teachers demanded it of him. He had been the one to instigate their adventures, the one that constantly got him trouble because she valued emotion over intelligence.

Maybe, when her emotions were gone, the intelligence breed cruelty.

That was their greatest difference – he had never been able to follow his emotions. Not without her guidance.

“Five hours,” the Doctor said, bringing him back to the conversation. “Give me five hours, and I’ll this TARDIS up and running.”

She went off again, moving her arms in wide arcs, explaining to them where the kitchen and sleeping areas would be. He rolled his eyes, frustrated to see her so… _Alive._ He wanted her _broken_ – shattered in pieces at the knowledge that she wasn’t person she thought she was.

He heard one of them ask where she was going to sleep. She didn’t reply, but whatever was not said was enough to have all the humans leaving anyway. Somehow, none of them had bothered to ask what the Doctor was going to do to the villain that had tried to kill them.

They were always a bit dense.

She put her head down for a moment, her back towards him as she waited for the humans to get out of earshot. The Master tried to collect his thoughts, to bring back the feeling of rage he was so used to, but it was just beyond his grasp.

“Do you regret it?” She asked him, suddenly, with no warning. Her voice was emotionless.

He moved then, finally, his limbs coming to life with pins and needles. He was used to this body now, after all he spent years as O, but he felt out of place when he stood behind the Doctor, her back barely touching him.

“No.”

He did regret it, some parts of it, but she didn’t need to know that.

She bowed her head lower, a breath of air leaving her that spoke of her strength than anything else. “I didn’t think you would.”

She turned then, meeting his eyes with tears in her eyes, “I don’t know who I am.” 

Always so sentimental. It sickened him, sometimes, when she would cling to her ideals with a passion that he could never quite grasp. Be kind, never be cruel. The fact that it had to be said spoke volumes for the Doctor’s character…But the fact that she followed those rules was what mattered.

Why couldn’t he?

He brought his arms around her, easily fitting together as she put her head on his shoulder. She shook in his arms, nearly buzzing with exhaustion as she wrapped her arms around him as tight as she could. They said nothing, standing there for uncountable seconds as the Master closed his eyes, mind clearing the longer they remained together.

It was when he closed his eyes that he felt her flinch in his arms. She held a bit tighter as she rid herself of whatever pain the Cyberium was causing, hissing when the discomfort didn’t go away. He pulled away out of necessity, looking closely for signs of her body overtaxing itself. Luckily, there were no streaks of silver making its way out of her. She was always stronger than he gave her credit for.

“Let me see.” He asked her, hand traveling to her face, fingers tracing her temples. It was shock to be able to hold her like this, after so long, after so many hurts between them – it must be a sign of how tired she was.

_Contact._

And he answered in kind. Though she kept her shields up, it was impressive to see what she had since their escapade in 1943 France – a much stronger defense, with no cracks to find. He probed gently, concerned to see the Cyberium follow his movements, banging and slashing against her walls without stopping.

In the real world, the Doctor whimpered.

The fury was back in a flash, faster than he was prepared for. His mind slipped, revealing the red the often plagued it. He beat at the Cyberium harshly, doing everything he could to demand its surrender. _Nothing_ would hurt the Doctor.

It abated slightly at both of their attacks, no doubt retreating to plan a better escape. But, for now, the Doctor was released from its clutches.

The Master expected to be shot out of her mind immediately. Instead, in the real world, she moved her fingers to his temples, a gentle touch that the Master fell into.

 _I should hate you_ she said first.

It was unsurprising. He had uprooted her life in more ways than one. Not just telling her the truth of her past, but also by destroying what she held dear. Though she had a right to know, he had no right to take away the very people that she had saved. He knew that he took away her choice of deciding what fate Gallifrey deserved, but he had no hope of stopping the revenge he craved when he heard the news.

 _I could never hate you_ she reiterated, _anger and love and hate and distrust and comfort weaved into the words_. 

And that’s what hurt the Master the most, knowing that no matter what he did, she would always come back to him.

He broke the connection, not willing to show her just how much that statement affected him. “Bed.” He said instead, letting her lean against him as the made their way through the hallway of the TARDIS. They moved in silence, the Doctor stumbling only slightly when they made it over the threshold of the Captain’s Quarters.

She fell onto the bed, shoes and all, collapsed on her side before he could say another word. She kept her eyes open though, watching him as he moved towards the bed, wondering how she expected to sleep in the same room, let alone the same bed.

“I’m tired.” She told him, meaning it in more ways than one, “And I’m beyond furious at you. I can’t look at you without thinking about Gallifrey and what you did to our…To the Time Lords.”

He kept the eye contact, refusing to feel guilty for it. He had so many reasons for doing so – so many that made _sense_ – but they were out of reach at the moment. He would never admit that he was wrong, especially not to her, and he _wasn’t._

Was he?

“But…” She patted the bed, “Lay with me? Please?”

Who was he to deny such a request?

With the face of Theta haunting his mind, he sat on the other side of the bed, twisting his body to grab ahold of one of her boots. He undid the laces with care, not speaking, and only focusing on his task. They both watched as the second boot fell of her foot, revealing a healing, twisted ankle.

He grimaced, wondering if it was from forcing her through the boundary, when she had tripped. Now, finally, guilt clawed its way through his heart.

“Leave it,” She said, “I’ll be healed after a nap.”

How he continued to earn her forgiveness was unsettling.

But he did what she asked. He moved, removing his own shoes, and crawled up against her, one arm sneaking under head, the other around her middle. She sighed into his embrace, curling closer around him, body heat intense.

The Master had missed this, more than he could ever remember.

She fell asleep almost instantly, her thoughts quiet only after two minutes of closing her eyes. The Cyberium reared its head often, but he kept it at bay, protecting her from what he could.

It felt good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed!!! I'm worried that I made the Master a bit more...Human than he deserved, but eh. 
> 
> M a y b e I'll do more here? I thought about doing something about the Doctor getting arrested, but midterms are coming so I might not have time.

**Author's Note:**

> I might have a second chapter filled with the Master's thoughts about all this. I might even have a multi-chapter fic dealing with the Doctor getting LEGIT ARRESTED AFTER THE TRAUMA SHE WENT THROUGH and the Master 'saving' her. We shall see. 
> 
> Anyhow I loved the final and I think I watched it three times. The acting was amazing - I do truly hate the Master for his actions, but fanon still exists and I will continue to ship. 
> 
> TELL ME YOUR THOUGHTS


End file.
